The Legend of Lemur (Book 3) - Rise of The Desert Queen

Chapter 19: Fatespeaker

Explosion after explosion erupted from the Desert Kingdom as the hellish fire spread through the kingdom like a plague. Lemur could hear a few agonized screams, and just pleaded that the screams he heard weren't from their own. All of a sudden, the screams all stopped at once, which indicated to Lemur that they were no longer themselves.

"That blasted demon!" shrieked the kingdom below.

Lemur swiftly spun around and fired himself back to the Lapis Kingdom, to prepare everyone for the imminent warzone that was about to approach them.

...

Yin stood from afar within the arena, to not interfere with the spar about to take place.

"Yin, you can head back, I'm sure the Lapis Union needs you over there," Steve interjected.

Yin stretched and replied, "I'm merely one of the soldiers. Cedric's position in this war is much more dire than mine. If he wins, I need to get him there."

"Understandable."

"Not a matter of if," Cedric boasted, "I will defeat Steve."

"Enough talking then, bring it on!" Steve exclaimed.

Cedric lifted his sword and bolted towards Steve before swinging down on his left. Steve leapt backwards as Cedric swept his sword at various angles. At the last swing, Steve clashed his sword with Cedric's, and countered his attack. Cedric ducked as the menacing crystal blade slashed just above his head, before he darted left and whipped his blade at Steve's legs.

The blade grazed Steve along the side of the knee as he flung himself to his right. Steve reached down to his leg and felt the shallow cut. Blood stained his pants and his hands, but it didn't stop him, but rather fueled him. He sprinted towards Cedric and began slashing with his sword swiftly, in an attempt to control the fight. They clashed their swords several times, creating distinctful clatters, which livened the silent village. Villagers began to arrive and spectate the ecstatic spar within the arena.

Steve and Cedric clashed their swords one final time and held it for a moment.

"You aren't doing too bad," Steve said, "I'm surprised, but let's see how you truly handle yourself in battle."

"Go ahead and try, I'm not backing down," Cedric replied.

Cedric's sword glimmered once more, as he jolted backwards, which offputted the weight behind Steve's sword, and slashed horizontally at him once more. Steve parried his attack and went in to stab Cedric. There's my chance, Cedric thought. As Cedric went to attack Steve's vulnerable spot, Steve smirked and swung his sword upwards at the last second, which gashed Cedric from his left shoulder, up to the side of his face. Blood splattered onto Cedric's clothes and onto the ground beneath him. Cedric wailed in pain and held the gashed area.

"You can give up now," Steve said, "You'll bleed out if you keep going, and I've injured your wielding arm."

Cedric glanced up at Steve weakly, holding back tears and replied, "Do you think... a little blood can stop me from achieving my fate?"

Cedric's sword flashed brightly, as he switched hands and cleaved the air right by Steve's chest. Steve instinctively evaded and Cedric smiled.

"I have a second arm."

Steve laughed in amusement and slashed with his sword several times. Cedric simply leapt backwards with each slash, and parried the last blow, before gashing Steve's elbow. Steve grimaced and said, "Alright, no holding back!"

Suddenly, Steve's diamond sword glowed brightly and to Cedric's surprise, four ghastly swords manifested above him.

"Let's see how you can do against five!"

Each and every sword Steve wielded slashed at Cedric with a will of its own, which made blocking next to impossible. Despite the difficulty, Cedric blocked a couple of the attacks, which bought him enough time to dart past them. Steve caught this tactic, and at the last second, slashed Cedric's back with all of his swords. Cedric fell forwards with pain face-first, and groaned. He turned his head to the side, and saw Steve approaching him slowly in his fuzzy, disoriented vision.

"You can't defeat me," Steve stated.

"Steve, I think he's had enough!" Yin exclaimed.

"No..." Cedric said weakly.

"No matter how hard you try, I will come out victorious. It's just a matter of skill," Steve replied, "Don't take it too harshly."

Cedric began to hear a whisper beyond Steve's boasts and statements. It was incomprehensible at first, but it grew louder and more clearer to him. Cedric glanced upwards at the sky beyond Steve and saw the massive dust clouds in the distance, rolling in from the North. They're... they're arriving at the Lapis Kingdom... I'm running out of time.

"Don't get me wrong," Steve continued, "You did well. You are a prodigy, I will admit. It was fun while it lasted, but in the end, you just aren't skilled enough."

The whisper Cedric heard began shouting over Steve, and Cedric could finally discern what it was saying.

"Fate..." Cedric murmured weakly.

"Your fate is to complete your training here," Steve replied, "You will die out there without honing your skills."

Cedric coughed out blood and saw the blades pointed at him by Steve. Several memories flashed through Cedric's mind, and Cedric remembered why he came in the first place.

"I speak for my own fate..." Cedric coughed.

"Just admit it," Steve replied, "You can't continue. Surrender now while you still can."

"My sword..." Cedric continued, "I will carve my own path... to what I will attain... I speak of fate... for it is my goal."

"You're acting delirious," Steve interjected, "Someone get a healer here, he's lost too much blood!"

"For it's..." Cedric wheezed, "Fatespeaker."

And all at once, right then... Cedric's sword exploded with light and swallowed the arena whole.